


Once Upon a Dream

by A_Romantic



Category: IT (Movies - Muschietti)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fairy Tale, Alternate Universe - Sleeping Beauty Fusion, Curses, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, M/M, Magic, No beta we die like mne, True Love's Kiss
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-20
Updated: 2019-12-20
Packaged: 2021-02-26 02:08:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 12,384
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21841939
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/A_Romantic/pseuds/A_Romantic
Summary: The Queen Without a Castle was dead. A king is crowned, a friend goes out to fulfill a promise, and someone sleeps alone in an abandoned castle.It's time to give this story a happy ending.(Or, a fairy tale of friendship, love, and oblivious gay dumbasses.)
Relationships: Ben Hanscom/Beverly Marsh, Bill Denbrough/Audra Phillips, Eddie Kaspbrak/Richie Tozier, Patricia Blum Uris/Stanley Uris
Comments: 13
Kudos: 92





	Once Upon a Dream

It was dark when Bev shook Ben awake, and yet her blue eyes and red hair seemed to almost glow in the dark as she looked at him, her expression filled with determination.

"The Queen is dead," she told him firmly, and he took a sharp breath. They all knew what that meant. For the kingdom, for their friends, for themselves.

"I...Let me go with you," he offered, but she shook her head, smiling sadly.

"I'm sorry. I'll make it faster on my own. Besides, Bill will need you. You know he will." She held his face in her hands, looking at him with adoration. "I'll be back as soon as possible."

"The sea is big," he told her, unable to hide his nerves. "It could take you years to find them."

She nodded. "I know. You don't have to wait for me, if you-"

"Of course I'll wait for you," Ben promised her, placing a hand over her's. "I'll wait however long it takes. I love you."

She pulled him in for a kiss. It was long, desperate, yearning, but eventually Ben pulled away, knowing she would have to go.

"I love you too," she told him gently. "I'll find them. I promise."

He closed his eyes, whispering, "Goodbye."

When he opened them, she was gone.

* * *

_Eddie stared out the window, looking out into the gardens and sighing. His mommy had been quite clear that he was to stay inside, but he didn't like that. He wanted to go out into the sun and play with the other kids in the courtyard._

_"Hi!"_

_He squawked with surprise as a boy appeared behind him, which only made the boy giggle._

_"Sorry," he said, not sounding very sorry. "I keep seeing you around but I never get to talk to you. I'm Richie!" He stuck a hand out, and his hands were dirty in a way that Eddie's mommy would hate. She'd tell him not to touch._

_But Eddie was upset and lonely and, even if the boy was dirty, he seemed nice, so he shook Richie's hand and said, "I'm Eddie."_

_Richie grinned at him, before looking outside. "It looks pretty out there. Wanna go play?"_

_Eddie frowned. "Mommy says I have to stay inside."_

_"Why?"_

_He sighed. "It's because I'm cursed."_

_Richie blinked. "Really?" Eddie nodded. "What kind of curse?"_

_"If I touch a spindle, I'm gonna die," Eddie explained. There was more to it than that, but Eddie didn't like explaining the whole story, and a lot of the details seemed unnecessary. Sleeping forever was basically death, right? He didn't really know much about death, just that Mommy didn't want him to die._

_"Huh." Richie frowned thoughtfully, tilting his head. He looked cute like that, Eddie decided. "Well gardens don't have any spindles, do they?"_

_"I dunno?" Eddie frowned. "I've never been."_

_"Then what if I check?" Richie offered. "I'll go and make sure there are no spindles. If I do that, you think you'll be able to play?"_

_"...I guess?"_

_Richie grinned. "Alright! Be right back!"_

_And Eddie waited as Richie ran off, and then several minutes later, Richie reappeared at the open window, dirtier than before and grinning._

_"All clear!" He offered a hand to Eddie, asking, "Want to come out now?"_

_And Eddie looked at him, with his big eyes behind spectacles and his dark curls and bright grin, before taking his hand, letting Richie help him outside through the window and into the garden._

_They played for hours, Richie showing him how to climb trees and how to weave flower crowns. Eddie's flower crowns were all too big, more like necklaces or belts, and they barely held together as he slung them around Richie's neck, but Richie made one of daisies and deposited it on Eddie's head, and Eddie liked it better than the metal, weighty circlet that his mommy made him wear to parties._

_Eventually, Richie's name was called, and he had to go, and Eddie washed his hands five times to make sure his mommy didn't know he had gotten them dirty. And he kept the daisy crown until the flowers dried and longer after that, safely hidden away from prying eyes._

* * *

Bill was coronated immediately, and the first question was where he intended to bury the Queen.

The family tomb, like the old castle, was surrounded by an impenetrable barrier of thorny vines, and the Queen had not requested any arrangements for herself.

Bill didn't want to think about that old witch right now. His aunt had died as she lived, in desperate denial, certain of her own superiority, and absolutely hated by everyone. It was her own stubbornness and idiocy that had done the Queen Without a Castle in, and Bill was tempted just to throw her in a pine box and bury her in the woods.

Instead, he asked to be given time to think about it and summoned Ben.

"Bev left this morning," Ben explained, and Bill nodded in understanding. They had all been waiting for this day since the moment the barrier grew around the old castle, blocking everyone out except for one soul. Bev would, at last, fulfill her promise, and hopefully, when she came back, they'd all be together again. That was what they all hoped for.

"I'm going to build a new capital," Bill decided firmly. "We aren't going to continue my aunt's legacy. The kingdom will not stagnate where it has been for the past year."

"What about..." Ben hesitated, but Bill simply smiled.

"We'll leave him to rest," Bill answered. "Until Bev gets back. I think he deserves that." He looked at Ben, a smirk on his face as he added, "And it would kill Aunt Sonia to be the first buried in the tomb of a different capital, don't you think?"

Ben let out a sputtering laugh at that.

* * *

_Richie was the son of one of Eddie's doctors, one of the ones who lived full time in the court. And so the two of them met up to play often, though not always in the garden. Sometimes they explored the castle, looking for secret passageways Richie insisted were there. Sometimes they bothered the chefs to let them have pastries that Eddie's mommy usually said he couldn't have. Sometimes they sat in the library, reading about knights and witches and fairies. Sometimes Eddie snuck Richie into his room, and the two of them would sit and talk for hours about everything and nothing._

_Eddie liked Richie a lot. Spending time with him was fun, and Richie never worried about him like everyone else did. He liked it a lot._

_They were ten years old when Richie suggested exploring the dungeons for the first time, and by then they had fallen into a familiar dynamic, one where Eddie would bitch and complain the whole way, but he would do it anyway. Richie thought that made him brave. Eddie thought it gave him plausible deniability, whatever that meant._

_The dungeons were dark and ominous, and the only sound was the breathing of the various prisoners. Most of them didn't look when Eddie and Richie walked past, and those who did didn't speak._

_It was at the end of the hallway where Eddie stopped, and Richie frowned._

_"Eddie, what's-"_

_"Look." He gestured towards one cell, walking over to it and sitting by the bars. And Richie understood why when the prisoner in that cell looked up._

_She was their age, and yet she was clamped down in harsh iron chains. Her hair was long and dirty and a fire red, and her eyes practically glowed blue. She was probably really pretty, but now she was ghostly pale and rail thin and looked tired more than anything._

_"You're not Ben," she said, surprised. "Who are you?"_

_"I'm Eddie, and this is Richie," Eddie introduced. "What are you doing down here?"_

_"I..." She frowned. "My...my dad, he did something bad. But when they went to get him, all they found was me." She shook a little bit as she hugged her arms around her body. "I hate him. I hated him already, and now I've gotta be here because he disappeared."_

_"...That's not fair," Eddie noted, and he looked down at her wrists, frowning. "You're hurt," he whispered, and suddenly Richie could see the burned skin on the girl's wrists, and the sight made him barely able to breathe for a moment. He couldn't think of something to say, to fix the situation, so he said nothing at all._

_"It's the iron," she told him, grimacing as she shifted. "It burns."_

_"...Richie, go get my bag?" Eddie asked, and Richie nodded before running. And Eddie reached through the bars and placed a hand on the girl's arm, a gentle, reassuring touch. "It's okay. We're going to fix your burns, and then I'll find away to get you out." She looked at him, as if unable to believe him. "What's your name?"_

_"...It's Beverly," she answered quietly. "But...but my friends call me Bev."_

* * *

Bev's legs buckled as her feet hit the sand, and she toppled to the beach, exhaustion catching up to her.

She had been flying for a month now. Unsurprisingly, the sea was big. She had been lucky to find an island close by to rest on.

She could feel a presence watching her. She had felt that gaze many times since she made her promise. The others couldn't feel it, but she could. It was the magic in her blood, the same magic that fueled her wings and burned at the touch of iron, that let her know someone was watching. And she knew who it was.

"Hey...hey Eddie," she whispered, her arms shaking as she pushed herself into a sitting position. "Don't worry, okay? I'll find him. I remember our promise."

She could feel it, like the ghost of a breeze. The reassurance, the trust, the unwavering belief. He knew she was doing her best. He wanted her to rest, to take care of herself. He didn't want her to break herself for the promise. He wasn't going anywhere. Please, rest.

She smiled. Eddie had always been a caretaker.

"I'm going to find them," she said aloud, her voice firm despite her exhaustion. "And then we'll all be together again."

* * *

_Eddie was furious, so furious that the fact that he had to play host for his cousins right after the screaming fight sent his blood boiling._

_He loved his cousins, really. Bill was probably one of his best friends, and Georgie was absolutely adorable, but after the nightmare of an argument that he had had with his mother, he really just wanted to see Richie._

_He was showing Bill and Georgie around, which was so boring that Georgie had fallen asleep and was now being carried piggyback by Bill, when he was suddenly tackled from behind._

_"Eds, you gotta save me," Richie insisted, clinging to Eddie's back as another boy ran in, looking murderous._

_"Don't call me that," Eddie grumbled, though he didn't pull away, simply turning his irritated glare to the murderous looking boy. "What did Richie do?"_

_"Hey," Richie whined, while the murderous boy's expression turned panicked and he started to bow._

_"Don't bother," Eddie insisted. "Nobody here cares about that. What did Richie do anyway?"_

_"He...he stole my book, your highness," the boy answered, and Eddie turned his head to glare at a sheepish Richie._

_"I was just trying to get him to have some fun," Richie insisted._

_Then Bill cleared his throat, reminding everyone of his and Georgie's presence, before saying, "I'm guh-guessing I shouldn't muh-meh-mention any of this to my aunt?"_

_"If you do, your death will be swift and painful," Eddie answered, before holding out a hand to the boy. "I'll make sure Richie returns the book. I'm Eddie."_

_"I know," the boy answered nervously. "You're the crown prince. I'm...I'm Stan."_

_"Yay, we're all friends, please don't kill me," Richie begged, his grip still tight around Eddie. And Eddie did his best not to show just how much of a relief it was, being held by Richie after the fight with his mom. It felt safe and comforting, and it took all he had not to just slump into the gesture._

_"Well Stan, you can hang out with us," Eddie offered. "I'm just showing Bill around anyway."_

_And Stan, very hesitantly, accepted._

* * *

Ben laughed lightly as Bill flopped onto his couch, screaming into the cushions.

"Is that really becoming of a king?" Ben asked teasingly, and Bill, without removing his face from the cushions, held up his hand and gave Ben the middle finger salute. "I'm just playing. What's wrong this time? The council still being terrible? More troubles with the new capital?"

"Fucking marriage proposals," Bill answered, turning over to be lying on his back, and Ben winced out of sympathy. "No one cared about me before I became king. Now suddenly every noble in the country and several outside of it are looking to get their daughter in my bed." He groaned. "Georgie is getting them too, and that's just...no! No! He's eleven! He doesn't even find anyone interesting yet! I'm not going to subject him to some crazy betrothal bullshit at eleven!"

Ben sighed. "It'll be okay."

Bill grumbled. "I wish Stan were here. He'd tell me I'm an idiot and give me helpful advice."

He heard the silent thoughts there. The thought that it had been months since Bev left. The thought that they hadn't heard anything from Stan since before the castle was blocked off from everyone. The fact that Ben was still living on Mike's farm, even after all this time.

They knew about Bev's promise.

They were scared she wouldn't be able to fulfill it.

"Well, if that's what you want," Ben decided, not wanting to think about the possibility of failure anymore. "Bill, you're an idiot."

"Thanks," Bill muttered sarcastically.

"You don't have to worry about marriage or heirs yet," Ben added, sitting beside Bill. "Go through all the proposals, eliminate anyone who is too old or too young for you. Think about what you are personally looking for in a partner, eliminate anyone who doesn't qualify. Then, meet whoever is left. Make friends with them, get to know them, and don't worry about it. You're the king, and you can set your own pace for this sort of thing. It hasn't even been a year, you don't need to worry about getting married yet. Oh, and burn all proposals meant for Georgie. Obviously."

"...That's...that's really good advice," Bill admitted, looking up at Ben. "Thanks Ben. I...I appreciate it."

"No problem."

* * *

_"I hate her," Eddie grumbled as he met up with Richie. "She said no, even to just changing Bev's restraints so they don't hurt her anymore."_

_Richie winced. "I know this is probably treason but...your mom is kind of a bitch." It was a word he wasn't supposed to know, but that just made him want to use it more. So he just said it around Eddie, who never snitched._

_"I'm the crown prince and I'm telling you you can say it," Eddie told him, groaning and burying his face in his hands. "She told me Bev's dad was the one who cursed me, this time. That she was only doing what was fair. But it's not. Bev...Bev was a baby, just like I was. She doesn't deserve this."_

_He looked so sad that Richie pulled him into his arms, and Eddie practically went limp in the gesture._

_(He wondered if Eddie was held like this by anyone else.)_

_"It'll be okay, Eds," Richie assured him. "We'll get Bev out of there. Even if we have to break the rules to do it."_

_And Eddie's eyes lit up, and he seemed to have an idea._

* * *

The progress on the new capital was moving along nicely. Construction was proceeding quickly, and the country seemed to be reacting positively to Bill's decision to finally set up a new place to continue court.

His aunt had not been popular after all, and it seemed the whole kingdom was now relieved she was dead. The Queen Without a Castle could not keep the country from moving forward anymore.

Unfortunately, there was one thing the Queen had done that continued to be a problem.

The shrieking was making Georgie cover his ears, looking at Bill with panic in his eyes. Bill understood why, and he glanced at Ben, who nodded and left to retrieve a pair of earmuffs for Georgie.

It wasn't a politically smart move to banish Princess Myra from the kingdom, but locally, it would probably make him very popular. No one liked her, not even the man she was betrothed to. Which was, of course, the reason they were in this mess.

"My Eddie-bear needs me!" Myra screamed again, and god, Bill _hated_ that nickname. And Eddie had hated it too.

"Princess Myra," Bill began, his voice as calm and firm as he could manage. "Despite what my aunt believed, you are clearly not Prince Edward's true love. I know it. Every person in the country knows it. Prince George is eleven and he knows it." Georgie nodded in agreement, smiling in relief as Ben returned and handed him the earmuffs. "All that the attempts made by you and my aunt to say otherwise have done is burn down the old capital city, which put thousands out of work and left them homeless and could have killed many if they hadn't been evacuated. So no, Prince Edward doesn't need you. What _this kingdom_ needs from you is an apology for all the damage you have caused, and for you to return home." Ben handed Bill a piece of paper, documenting the betrothal agreement between Eddie and Myra, and Bill smiled gratefully before standing up.

"Princess, I love my cousin like a second brother," Bill continued, walking over to the fireplace. "If I truly believed you could help him, I would let you. But you can't, and I also love him enough to know he wouldn't want you to." Bill knelt down and crumpled the paper in his hands, before tossing it into the fire. Myra whined as it caught and burned in seconds, but Bill was unaffected.

Eddie deserved better than her.

He turned back to Myra, and he held himself like a king.

"You have long overstayed your welcome, Princess Myra," Bill declared. "It is time for you to return home. There is nothing left for you here."

* * *

_There was a boy, carrying a bag of food towards the dungeons. And Eddie and Richie knew it must be who they were looking for, and so they ran forward and grabbed his arms, dragging him to an abandoned room._

_"You're Ben, right?" Eddie asked, and Ben gave a frightened nod as he recognized who Eddie was._

_"...Yes, your high-"_

_"You don't have to call him that," Richie piped up cheerfully. "Eds here doesn't actually care."_

_Eddie glared at Richie for the nickname, before turning back to Ben._

_"You're the one who keeps bringing Bev food, right?" Eddie asked, and Ben nodded, his eyes wide with realization. "Well, I'm planning on breaking her out. But she's gonna need a place to go once she's out."_

_"...I know a place," Ben admitted quietly. "My friend Mike...he lives on a farm just outside the capital. If we can get her out, I'll take her there."_

_Eddie and Richie grinned, and Richie held up a hand for Ben to high five, declaring, "Welcome to the jailbreak crew."_

_"You guys aren't very subtle, you know?"_

_They all flinched, staring at where three boys were standing at the door._

_It was Bill, Stan, and Georgie._

_They all looked at each other for a long while, before Bill spoke up, "I...I want in."_

_"Me too," Stan agreed with a firm nod._

_"I can help too!" said tiny Georgie. Then, shyly, "What's a jailbreak?"_

_Eddie looked over the six other people in the room, before an evil grin came to his face, a grin that Richie believed put his own to shame. It was a grin that promised trouble, and Richie's heart might have beat a little faster at the sight._

_"Then I know what we all have to do."_

* * *

Every ship Bev saw, she checked. She checked every sailor, every prisoner, every person who could possibly be on board.

Nothing.

It was coming up on six months.

If it took years, Bev would do it.

He hoped that it wouldn't, more for Bev's sake than his own.

Sometimes he regretted asking her to do this, letting her promise. Because promises meant more to the fae folk than they did to humans, and Bev also still felt like she owed him for what he did for her.

She was one of his best friends, and he hated that it was something that still hung over her.

"Don't worry, Eddie," she said aloud, hiding beside a barrel of mead on one of the ships to rest. "I would have done this for you anyway."

He couldn't know that.

"Well I know it," she told him. "Because you're one of my best friends too. We all love you, Eddie, and I would do this for you if there was no promise. So don't worry about it." She smiled softly. "You always took care of us. Whenever we got hurt or needed someone, you were there to patch us up and sit there until we felt better. Let me do this for you."

He wished he could hug her. He wished he could really see her. He wished for a lot of things. But mostly, he just loved his friends so much that his heart might burst.

"We love you too, Eddie."

* * *

_Bill and Georgie were on distraction duty. Georgie was distracting Eddie's mom, innocently asking questions about things very complicated to explain. Not even Eddie's mom could resist Georgie's adorableness. Meanwhile, Bill had the more active job of distracting the head of the castle guard with stammering questions as Richie, surprisingly sneaky, swiped his keys and passed them off to Eddie._

_Stan would be keeping an eye on their exit, and he had taught them various bird sounds as signals. And, just outside the castle, Ben and his friend Mike would be waiting with the cart from Mike's farm, ready to go._

_Right now though, it was all on Eddie._

_He arrived at the cell and unlocked the door, wincing at the way the rusted hinges squeaked. Bev looked up at him with her glowing blue eyes._

_Eddie knelt down by her, carefully unlocking her chains and setting them quietly on the ground. And, the moment they were off, it was like a sudden energy came to Bev._

_"...Thank you," she said, a smile on her face, and Eddie grinned back._

_"We're not done yet," he told her, gesturing for her to follow him out of the cell. He noticed she was taller than him, and the threadbare dress hung off her thin body loosely. He wondered, for a moment, if Ben was the only one feeding her. He held out his hand as they exited the cell, and she hesitantly took it._

_He silently led her out of the dungeon, whistling a signal. There was a whistle back, a "not yet", so Eddie led her to an empty room to wait._

_"You...my dad, he cursed you, didn't he?" Bev asked, and Eddie blinked. She gestured to their clasped hands, continuing, "I can feel it. He...maybe I can..." She closed her eyes and clasped her other hand around Eddie's, humming a soft, quiet song that caused Eddie's hair to stand up straight._

_It was magic, real magic. He had never experienced it before._

_She grimaced suddenly. "It's...someone already messed with it. It's not just my dad's curse anymore, so I can't remove it."_

_"It's okay," Eddie promised, and it was. "It's not your fault. Thanks for trying though. I appreciate it."_

_There was another whistle signal, and Eddie grinned before opening the door, checking to make sure no one was watching before leading Bev put and down the hallway towards the servants' passages._

_They walked through until they finally met Stan at the door, and he nodded to Bev._

_"It's nice to meet you," he greeted her, and she smiled and shook his hand when he offered. "Ben and Mike are waiting outside."_

_"You...thank you," she told him, and he nodded, opening the door for them._

_Ben's grin practically glowed at the sight of Bev, who practically collapsed into his arms when he held them out for a hug, and another boy looked up from where he stood in the back of the cart and grinned._

_"You must be Eddie," he said cheerfully. "I'm Mike. Can you help me out for a second?"_

_"Sure," Eddie agreed, climbing into the back of the cart._

_Mike gestured to the items, explaining, "Once Bev is back here, we're going to cover her with some burlap. Then we move the heavier stuff around her, like a barrier, before laying the bags of cotton on top, since those are light. The heavier items will keep the cotton from moving and exposing her. Think you can handle some heavy lifting?"_

_Eddie grinned, grateful that he was being asked to help in general. "Yes."_

_Eventually, Bev let go of Ben, and she clambered into the back of the cart, kissing Eddie on the cheek twice._

_"Give the other one to Richie for me," she told him. "Thank you."_

_"See you later," he told her, and with that, she laid down where Mike told her to, and he, Ben, and Eddie carefully moved everything into position, hiding Bev from sight. Then Mike and Ben climbed to the front as Eddie jumped off, and he waved to them as they drove away, before heading back inside._

_He and Stan met back up with Richie, and he gave Richie the key ring, saying happily, "She's out."_

_"Awesome," Richie answered, but before he could leave to return the keys, Eddie grabbed his sleeve and pulled him back._

_"She...she asked me to give you this," Eddie continued, not sure why he was nervous, before leaning forward and pressing a kiss to Richie's cheek._

_Richie blinked, placing his hand over where Eddie had kissed him, before stammering, "Uh...thanks...I should...I should probably..." He flailed his arms in an attempt to gesture that he had to go, and when Eddie nodded, he scampered off._

_Stan grinned at the sight, though when Eddie asked why, he_ _simply said, "Oh, nothing."_

* * *

Ben liked farm work, oddly enough. It was relaxing, in a way, and it reminded him of Mike.

And, from Mike's old farm, he could see the old castle, could see the sharp thorny vines and the bloody red spots that he knew were patches of roses. Before, there wouldn't have been a way to see it, but after the Queen and Princess Myra's futile quest to get inside, the capital city was gone, and only the castle and its impenetrable barrier remained.

He remembered the way Bev had strained to use her magic to keep the farm safe from the fire. The field closest to the city was the only casualty in the end, thanks to her, but it had exhausted her.

He worried about her. Not because of any doubts in her, but because he knew she would fight until she had nothing left for them. It was her greatest weakness, and Ben loved her for her loyalty (among many, many other things) and worried about it in equal measure.

He finished his chores and looked past what remained of the old capital city to the castle, and, even knowing Eddie couldn't see him, he waved.

* * *

_Eddie sat in the hidden area of the garden, and the first to appear, as always, was Richie._

_"Hey Eds!" Richie called, and Eddie tried not to smile at the nickname._

_"Don't call me that!" he shouted back, and Richie grinned._

_"Sorry. Edward Kaspbrak, Crown Prince of-"_

_"Stop," Eddie grumbled, smacking Richie lightly on the face as Richie wrapped his arms around his middle, burying his face in Eddie's shoulder. Eddie relaxed into the comfortable embrace, sighing softly as he did._

_Richie let go when Stan arrived, Bill and Georgie close behind. He didn't usually hold Eddie like that in front of others, wary of what people might say, seeing the son of a doctor hugging the prince. And none of their friends cared, but Eddie was still embarrassed to be seen by them in that position, even if he didn't understand why._

_Ben was the last to arrive by foot, and, moments later, Bev and Mike popped into existence by the rose bush, Bev grinning brightly even as she had to lean her weight against Mike._

_"I'm getting better at this!" she said excitedly, and Ben pulled her into a hug like he always did._

_She looked a lot better after two years on Mike's family's farm. She had filled out some, no longer skin and bones, and her skin had lost its deathly pale quality, the sun having given her some color and hundreds of freckles. The only remaining sign of her time in the dungeons was the fading burn scars on her wrists from the iron._

_"I got the kitchens to give me some good stuff," Eddie piped up, showing the basket. Stan pulled a blanket from his bag and Bill helped him lay it out, while Georgie jumped excitedly when Eddie pulled out a container of blueberry tarts, his favorite. And soon, the eight of them were having a picnic, sharing stories as they did._

_Eddie looked at Richie as he dramatically retold a story of how he and Stan got banned from the castle library for a week, looked at the sun on his longish curls and the way his eyes shined behind his spectacles, and he felt his heart beat a little faster. Needing something to do, he began plucking daisies, remembering how Richie had taught him how to make flower crowns eight years ago, the first time Eddie snuck out to the gardens, before he had ever tried to fight his mother on anything. He wove the stems like Richie taught him, and he held up the result, much nicer than his clumsy five-year-old fingers could have managed, before resting it lightly on Richie's head, which surprised him into silence._

_Richie looked at Eddie, whose brown hair had streaks of copper in the sunlight, with shining brown eyes and a proud smile on his face, and it hit him in that moment._

_It hit Eddie too, with the soft expression on Richie's face as he gently touched the crown of daisies on his head, smiling a smile that was rare from Richie._

_They, lost in each other for a moment, didn't see the way the older five of the people with them looked around at each other, knowing expressions of their faces. They didn't hear Stan, braver after three years, mutter, "Dumbasses."_

_Finally, Georgie, bored and too young to recognize the dual realization of romantic feelings and upset that Richie hadn't finished the story, asked, "Then what happened, Richie?" and the moment was gone, Eddie looking away with a blush on his cheeks and Richie stammering for a moment before continuing the story._

_But neither of them forgot it, forgot the moment they realized it._

* * *

Bill was pretty sure he wasn't made for political marriages.

He didn't think anyone was, really, but he especially was unable to deal with the absolutely nauseating experience of meeting a bunch of hopeful queens.

He had followed Ben's advice. He eliminated any girl over twenty and under sixteen. He then eliminated all offers that were too obviously exploitive, ones that would put himself at an obvious disadvantage. All offers for Georgie went immediately into the fireplace in his room, and in the end he was left with twelve girls.

It was going awfully so far. Greta, the first he met with, instantly lost his favor by being a backstabbing jerk who was prone to spreading and sharing nasty rumors. Betty was nice, but their conversation was stilted and awkward, too formal for Bill to get comfortable. Kay was friendly and cheerful and capable of casual conversation, but he wasn't particularly interested in her and she was also a lesbian who made it clear she wasn't interested in marriage or being queen, unwillingly offered up by her parents, so Bill rejected her with no hard feelings between them. Cara was very clearly in it for being Queen, and, while her political savvy was impressive, Bill actually did want a partner who wouldn't gladly poison his food if she felt she could do his job better (though she probably could). Victoria was very similar to Greta. Penny got a harsh no from Georgie before the end of her first night visiting the Denbrough estate and Bill didn't ask why, simply dismissed her without question.

(That last one hadn't made the council happy, but Bill loved his brother and wouldn't marry someone who Georgie didn't want to be around.)

Ben suffered through Bill's complaining with a smile, and, unlike the council, didn't judge his continued rejections. He understood the dismissal of Penny. If Ben wasn't both a man (which the council had vetoed the moment Bill even implied he'd be interested in men as well as women, insisting he needed an heir, which was honestly quite rude of them) and also in a very committed relationship with Bev, Bill would probably propose to him just to end the torment. 

This was the seventh girl he'd meet. "Lucky number seven," Stan would say, though if Bill was really lucky, he wouldn't have to suffer through this at all.

He missed Stan and Mike and Richie, even after two years. He hoped they were okay. He hoped Bev was okay too.

Audra had light hair and eyes a little like Bev's, except unlike Bev's they didn't glow when her face was in shadow. She smiled warmly when they met, and she greeted Ben politely (already a good sign; Greta and Victoria had refused to acknowledge him and Cara had been a little too conscious of Ben's lower status) and Georgie didn't look uncomfortable when she shook his hand (nor did he immediately wipe his hands off on his pants like he had when Penny had, which was another good sign). It was awkward, but already better than Bill had expected.

Maybe Stan had had the right idea, with considering seven lucky.

* * *

_Eddie was fourteen when he asked Mike for something crazy._

_"You...you want me to give you a spindle?" Mike asked, his eyes wide. "You mean the one thing that will force you to fall asleep forever unless someone you love kisses you?"_

_"Yes," Eddie answered, no trace of humor in his voice._

_Mike buried his face in his hands. "It's...it's highly illegal, you know? It is literally treason to bring a spindle or even a spinning wheel into the capital city. You, the crown prince, are asking me to commit treason. And it's treason that'll fuck you over? Why?"_

_Eddie sighed. "It's...it's going to happen eventually, isn't it? It's a curse, it's destined to fucking happen. Sometime after I turn sixteen, I'm gonna stab my hand and basically die. I fucking get it." He buried his face in his hands. "But this way, I get fucking control over it. I get to decide when it happens." Then, a bit weaker, "Mom's made an agreement with a neighboring kingdom. I'm betrothed to...to this princess and I've met her and she's awful. And...and at least if I have control over what happens I can keep that from happening."_

_Mike frowned. He didn't like this. He didn't like that he'd be helping Eddie essentially doom himself to sleeping forever. But Eddie looked at him with pleading eyes and Mike knew, he knew that Eddie wouldn't be asking for this if he wasn't completely serious._

_"Okay," he agreed. "I'll bring one next time Bev brings us here."_

_And he did, wrapped carefully in his bag so it wouldn't accidentally stab Eddie. But Eddie was already prepared with tongs from a fireplace when Mike silently gave it to him while the others obliviously sat in that hidden spot in the garden waiting for them, and he hid the spindle away near the now dried crown of daisies Richie had made him nine years before. And Mike didn't say a word about it to anyone, and neither did Eddie._

_Eddie wouldn't marry Princess Myra, not if he could help it._

_When they returned to the others, he rested his head on Richie's shoulder while Richie regaled the others with a story, and he wondered, if he did fall under the curse, if Richie's kiss would wake him up._

* * *

Bev collapsed from exhaustion among the stored food of the ship she found, before she could even search it, and woke up in the brig.

Shit.

* * *

_Eddie and Richie were bickering about something stupid when Eddie suddenly shushed Richie, pulling him into the bushes as Stan and a girl walked by, holding hands._

_"You mentioned you liked birds," the girl noted, her smile soft and sweet. "Do you have a favorite kind?"_

_"I...I don't know," Stan admitted, and Richiewas surprised by how shy and soft Stan sounded. "I guess I like them all." He shrugged. "I guess it's nice, to imagine being able to fly. To go wherever you want to, to not worry about...about what other people think."_

_"...Yeah," the girl agreed, leaning forward and kissing Stan on the cheek. "It is nice."_

_The two of them looked at each other fondly as they continued along, and when they were out of earshot Richie whispered, "I know her. Her mom works in the kitchens. I think her name is Patty."_

_Eddie nodded. "I can't...actually, nevermind." He shook his head and gave Richie a withering look. "I know exactly why Stan hasn't told us about her."_

_"Hey, everyone loves my jokes," Richie insisted, and Eddie rolled his eyes at that, before looking over the direction Patty and Stan had disappeared, a strange look on his face. "Something wrong, Eds?"_

_Eddie scowled. "Don't call me that." Then, after a moment, he sighed. "It's nothing, just...Mom's being a bitch about the stupid betrothal bullshit. She keeps insisting that Myra's gonna fix my curse or whatever." He pulled his knees to his chest. "But it's stupid. Myra...I don't love Myra. I can't fucking stand her. But because of this..." He sighed again. "I'm...I'm not gonna get to have what Stan has, am I? All I've got is a mom and a fiancee who both just treat me like I'm made of glass because of a stupid curse, and they don't even really love me. They just want a fucking doll they can take care of."_

_Richie hated that Eddie was so sad, and for a moment, he considered telling him. Telling him that Richie loved him, telling him that Richie thought he was as strong as steel, that Richie wanted to hold him and kiss him, that Richie would probably love him to the ends of the Earth._

_But he couldn't. He wasn't brave enough to risk it._

_So instead, he pulled Eddie into a hug, and Eddie, as always, relaxed into the embrace._

_"Someone will love you," Richie promised. "The real you. They'd be fucking idiots not to."_

* * *

Ben and Georgie sat together in the library of the Denbrough estate, the unofficial political center until the new castle was built, and Georgie asked, "Do you think Richie will really come back?"

He didn't mention Mike or Stan, though it wasn't out of malice. No, Georgie was a smart kid, and he knew exactly what he was asking.

"I hope so," Ben told him.

"Me too," Georgie agreed, before deciding to change the subject to happier things. "I think Audra's nice, don't you?"

Ben nodded. "Yeah, she is. I think Bill likes her."

Georgie snorted in amusement, folding the paper in front of him instead of looking over his books like he was supposed to. "Billy's always really obvious when he likes someone. I bet he's not even gonna meet the last five girls before picking her."

He finished the paper boat he was working on and set it aside, before looking out the window. It was too dark to see the castle in the distance, but that didn't stop him from looking. "I hope Eddie's okay." Then, quieter, "I hope Richie comes back soon."

Ben didn't say anything, though he agreed.

* * *

_Richie's hands shook as he handed Eddie the letter, but Eddie didn't have to read it. He already knew what it said._

_Myra's father had asked for soldiers to assist in a war, as part of the agreement for marrying off his daughter to the crown prince. Eddie's mom, instead of sending soldiers, was conscripting young men from around the kingdom. The letter in Richie's hands, the same letter that Mike and Stan had both shown Eddie, was to inform Richie to report for duty at the border in ten days, or be tried with treason._

_"No," Eddie whispered. "You...you can't...you can't-"_

_"I'm not," Richie told him. "I...Stan and Mike and I...we're going to the coast, taking a boat. We're leaving."_

_Eddie sobbed, wrapping his arms around Richie, and the letter like a death sentence fell to the ground._

* * *

"You're up awfully late."

Bill glanced over at Audra, who was dressed in a nightgown and looking at him with a raised eyebrow, and he shrugged helplessly.

"Kuh-Couldn't sleep," he admitted, then winced at the stutter. He looked out, mentally reciting that rhyme in his head, the rhyme he had been made to repeat over and over again.

_He thrusts his fists against the post and still insists he sees the ghosts._

Audra walked over, standing by him at the balcony, and she looked out into the darkness. She was quiet, leaving Bill with the opening to speak if he wanted to.

He was surprised to realize he did want to.

"It's...It's Eddie's eighteenth buh-birthday," he admitted quietly, into the early morning dark, and she nodded in understanding.

"It's been two years since you've seen him," she filled in, and he nodded. "I'm sorry. You must really miss him."

"I...I ruh-really do." Bill grimaced. "Suh-Sorry, it's usually nuh-not this bad."

"You don't have to apologize," she told him, smiling at him. "It's not something to be ashamed about. It's just a part of you." She shrugged. "I wouldn't still be here if I minded."

Bill blinked with surprise. "Ruh-ruh-really?"

Her smile was soft as she assured him, "I'm not exactly aching for suitors, and I'm not in this to be queen. If I didn't like you, I could leave." She met his eyes with her's, and Bill felt his breath leave him. "Your stutter is not going to be a deal breaker for me. If anyone decided it was, they should be kicked in the crotch."

He laughed at that, before looking back out.

"Eddie...he used tuh-to shout at any-anyone who made fuh-fun of it," Bill admitted. "We...we had one fruh-friend who was the only ex-exception. Becuh-cause that friend would pruh-probably murder anyone else who tried." Bill laughed a little bit. "Eddie though...Eddie was probably the bruh-bravest out of all of us, even if he...he had the most to be afraid about. He took kuh-care of us all though." He sighed. "I...Fuck." He wiped his face as tears began to drip from his eyes. "I fucking hated my aunt for...for what she did to him. Locking him away in that castle. Trying to marry him off to someone he hated. It...It wasn't fair. It's...it's not fucking fair."

Audra wrapped her arms around him as he cried, and Bill missed Eddie more than anything.

He hoped Bev succeeded, more than anything.

* * *

_It was a familiar scene that night, except now all of them were fifteen and Bev and Ben weren't there, instead at Mike's farm with the promise to take care of it. Bill and Georgie were there though, and Georgie was crying as he hugged Mike, then Stan, then Richie._

_"It's not...it's not fair," Bill whispered, his eyes still red. "It's not fair."_

_Eddie agreed. It really wasn't._

_There was no need to hide them, like they had hidden Bev. They weren't fugitives yet, though the moment they stepped on that boat and sailed away, they would be. Unless they received a pardon, they could not safely return._

_Eddie knew his mother wouldn't pardon them, not for his sake, not for anyone's._

_"Wait!"_

_They turned, and at the door stood Patty, breathing frantically and with a bag over her shoulder._

_Stan blinked. "Patty?"_

_"I'm coming with you," she insisted, walking up to them with a determined expression._

_"Patty...this is treason," Stan insisted. "If you get caught helping us-"_

_"Stanley Uris, I know exactly what I want with my life," she told him firmly. "I know that I never wanted to stay in this fucking castle, serving uptight nobles with their heads up their asses." She glanced at Bill, Georgie, and Eddie. "No offense."_

_"None taken," Bill assured her, a grin on his face. Georgie giggled, probably at the fact that Patty cursed._

_"My mom has made a career of having her head up her ass," Eddie added helpfully, and she smiled at that before focusing on Stan again._

_"You, Stan, are the only good thing about being here," she told him firmly. "And so if you think I'm worried about treason right now? Fuck you. Because honestly, that sounds way better than staying here for the rest of my life. So yeah, I'm going with you."_

_"But-"_

_"Stan," Richie interrupted. "I don't think you're going to convince her otherwise. Besides, the more the fucking merrier, right?"_

_Stan looked at Patty, looked at Mike already at the front, who simply shrugged and said, "We've got plenty of room," then back to Patty. And then he gave a soft, lovesick smile._

_"You're going to be the death of me," he admitted, and she laughed and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek, before hiking up her skirts and climbing into the cart, with Stan giving Bill, Georgie, and Eddie one last hug before following._

_Richie hugged Bill first, whispering something that earned him a laugh and a punch to the arm, and then he hugged Georgie, who clung to his shirt and insisted Richie tell him everything when he came back. And then, that only left Eddie._

_"Eds," Richie whispered softly, holding out his arms, and Eddie let out a desperate sob as he collapsed into the hug, clinging to Richie as tightly as he could._

_Both of them wanted to say a lot of things._

_Eddie wanted to be like Patty, and insist on coming with. Richie wanted to ask him to. But they both knew Eddie had to stay._

_They both nearly said those three words to each other, but they didn't._

_And, eventually, they let go._

_"Stay safe," were Eddie's final words to Richie._

_"You too," were Richie's final words to Eddie._

_And Georgie and Bill clung to Eddie as they watched the cart disappear into the night, and Eddie's heart shattered._

* * *

"We've got a stowaway, Captain," Bev heard someone call, and she heard the door open behind her. It was familiar, trapped in a cell alone, only this time there was no burning iron on her wrists. "No idea how she got on board. She was passed out on top of the reserves when we found her."

She looked up to see a woman standing there, flanked by several men, and one man flinched at the sight of Bev's eyes and pulled out his sword.

"Put the sword away," the woman stated firmly.

"Captain, she's fae folk! You know they can't be-"

"Put the sword away," the Captain repeated, her voice unwavering, and the man begrudgingly did. She walked up to the bars and knelt down, and Bev's eyes widened in recognition.

"Patty?" she asked, and the Captain gave a smile at that.

"It's been a while, hasn't it Bev," Patty noted warmly. Then she frowned, concerned as she realized something. "But why are you out here? Is something wrong?"

Bev's hands shook as she reached into her pocket, pulling out a letter.

"Where's Richie?"

* * *

_It was Eddie's sixteenth birthday, and on his bed laid the now unwrapped spindle and the dried, delicate remains of a crown of daisies._

_Bev appeared in his room, her glowing blue eyes nervous as she asked, "Are you absolutely sure about this?"_

_He nodded firmly. His mother had locked him in his room this morning, informing him she had sent for_ _Myra, that she was marrying the two of them the moment Myra arrived. It had only been a few months since Richie and the others had left, and Eddie already felt like he was losing his mind. But this? This was the final straw. And so he had signaled for Bev and set a plan two years in the making into motion._

_"Okay...okay." Bev bit her lip nervously. "The Queen is out of the castle, and Ben's got everyone out. Once I leave, it'll just be you."_

_Eddie nodded. The curse was supposed to make everyone in the castle sleep too, but Eddie...Eddie didn't want to do that to the people who worked here. And he wasn't going to have his mother or Myra inside when he did this._

_He pulled an envelope out of his pocket, handing it to Bev._

_"When...when the Queen is dead...I need you to find Richie." Eddie took a shaky breath. "Give this letter to him, please."_

_"I will. I promise." Her eyes glowed blue, and he knew she meant it._

_Bev looked at the bed, reaching down and gently picking up the dried flowers. She inspected them closely, before gently blowing on them, and after a few moments the life returned to the daisies, making them as fresh as the day they were eleven years before, when Richie first wove them together. And she gently rested the crown on his head._

_"You'll go into stasis when you're eighteen," she told him quietly. "You won't age past that. I'll try not to take too long."_

_"I trust you," Eddie assured her. He looked out the window, before telling her, "It's time."_

_She nodded, pulling him into a brief hug. "I...I'll find him. When it's time." She didn't say goodbye, as it was too final, just vanished in a blink, and Eddie was alone._

_He smiled softly, before picking up the spindle in his hands._

_Just like he had told Mike._

_It was time he got to have some control over his fate._

_He took a deep breath and pressed his finger to the tip until it broke through his skin._

_His final words were, "Ow! Fucking dammit," before a wave of exhaustion hit him and his eyes blinked shut and he fell limply against his pillows, fast asleep._

* * *

Richie woke up to Stan and Mike hovering over him, wide-eyed.

"The fuck do you want?" he grumbled, half-awake.

"Bev's here," Mike answered, and Richie was suddenly wide awake, on his feet in seconds. He practically ran to the Captain's room, and there was Bev sitting there, with her glowing blue eyes and flame red hair and exhaustion shown in every part of her.

"Bev," he whispered, his voice shaking, and he didn't hesitate to wrap her into a hug. He had never thought he'd see her again, not since they left.

When he pulled away, she shoved an envelope into his hands, and he looked at his name on the front in familiar handwriting and couldn't help the desperate noise that he made as he opened it.

_Dear Richie,_

_If you're reading this, then my mom is dead. Probably for a while, depending on how long it took Bev to find you. Bill, next in line after me, has already promised to pardon you and the others of treason. If you want to come back, you can._

_It's only been months for me since you left, and I miss you like something was cut out of me. It's okay if you don't miss me. It's probably been a while for you._

_I_ _never told you, but I hid a spindle in my room. I wanted to have control over this, if nothing else. And I'm writing this because I'm going through with it today. I would have waited longer, but my mom's locked me in my room, and she's going to try and marry to Myra the moment she gets here. And I'm not going to let that happen._

_I'm not asking you to come back. I want you to. Part of me desperately wants you to. But it's probably been years for you. I hope you met someone who makes you as happy as Patty makes Stan. I just want you to know that for me, that person was always you._

_Fucking hell, this shit is too goddamn serious for both of us. I fucking love you, obviously, even if you are a stupid prick who has the worst fucking nicknames and tells the worst jokes. Don't know what the fuck happened there, but fuck it. I love you and you're probably it for me._

_Don't you fucking dare feel bad for me, asshole. And don't feel obligated to come back. Bev thinks you can break the curse but I am not going to be a big enough dick to make you try and come back just for that. You probably got to finally use that stupid charm you kept insisting you have and I'd never admit to you having. I hate that you were right. If you have someone, I'm happy for you. And I feel bad for them, because they have to suffer your jokes._

_So yeah. Fuck you for making me fall in love with you, and I hope you are happy wherever you are. You deserve it, jackass._

_~~Love,~~ _

_Eds_

_PS: There I fucking accepted the nickname. I actually really liked it. Fuck you._

Richie let out a choked sob, clutching the letter to his chest, and Bev pulled him into a hug. And Stan and Mike joined them, holding Richie as he cried.

When he finally managed to pull himself together, he looked up at Patty, sitting at her desk, and said, "We have to go back."

She nodded. "I'll tell the crew." She stood and headed for the door, before pausing and looking back at him, a smile on her face. "I had a feeling it would be you."

* * *

_He wasn't sure if this was real or not, or maybe just a dream. All he knew was that he was aware, that he was watching without really being there._

_He could see the vines grow around the castle, with the deadly thorns and poison red roses. He could see his mother screaming, insisting the knights cut through the barrier to no avail. He could see Myra approach smugly, only to find the vines would not retreat for her sake. Then, like his mother, she screamed too._

_He saw Georgie and Bill hugging in Georgie's room, Georgie sobbing as he clung to his brother._

_He saw Ben and Bev sitting together in Mike's old farmhouse, hands clasped tight and eyes red._

_He didn't see Patty or Stan or Mike or Richie. He didn't even know where to look._

_He watched his mother and Myra's futile attempts to get past the barrier. Every woodsman in the country couldn't cut through the vines. Every gardener couldn't clip them away. Every soldier lost swords of iron and steel to them._

_It was Myra who suggested fire, though his mother agreed, and so he watched as Ben ran through the streets, ensuring the citizens were all safely away from the city when the first flame was started. He watched Bev strain to keep the fire back from Mike's farm, her eyes glowing like the sky and her hair almost as bright as the flames of the city as she fought with all the love in her chest. He watched Bill scream at the queen, Georgie burying his face in Bill's side as he cried out of fear._

_He watched the city around the castle burn to the ground._

_The barrier was not even the slightest bit weaker._

_For a year, his mother and Myra battled the barrier. His mother refused to engage in any sort of politics, refused to hold court, refused to stay anywhere but a tent in the burned remains of the capital. It was not out of love, but out of denial. Out of anger for not getting her way. A grown woman having a fucking temper tantrum._

_He watched her become the Queen Without a Castle._

_"Why won't she die?" he watched Bev whisper to Ben one night. "Why won't she just fucking die?"_

_"Is it bad that I want Aunt Sonia to die?" he watched Georgie ask Bill one morning, and Bill never managed an answer for that._

_He watched his mother grow sick. He watched her, delirious, with fever, attempt to rip the vines apart with her bare hands._ _He guessed some part of him did love her, and vice versa, because the thorns didn't cut her hands. But it wasn't enough. She didn't love him enough, and he held too much resentment towards her to love her wholeheartedly._

_He watched as she died, three months after his seventeenth birthday, in the early morning. He watched Bev kiss Ben goodbye. He watched Bill become crowned king at dawn, Georgie standing beside him and looking anxious. He watched Bev stand at the coast before willing a pair of fire-like wings into existence, taking off in search of Richie._

_He never looked at himself. He didn't want to, feeling too awkward about the idea._

_He watched the others instead. Watched Bev hop from ship to ship, swallowing his guilt as exhaustion showed in every pore of her body. Watched Ben wave to the castle every morning after his chores, not knowing that someone could see him. Watched as Georgie looked out towards the direction of the sea every day, hoping to see someone coming. Watched as Bill stumbled his way through a tentative romance with Audra, who accepted his stutter and held him as he cried over missing his friends and didn't leave despite having other options. Watched as Bev asked Patty, "Where's Richie?"_

_He watched as Patty sat in the crow's nest of a ship that was her's, smiling sadly as she looked out at the setting sun. He watched as Stan climbed up to join her._

_"I'm sorry," he apologized as he sat beside her, but she looked at him and shook her head._

_"Don't be," she told him. "The sea isn't the only place to have adventures, you know? Besides..." She nudged him with her shoulder and he met her eyes. "You love him too. Maybe not the same way, but you do. And I'm not selfish enough to take away his chance at waking up." She looked back out over the sea and smiled again. "I loved this, for the past two years, but I don't need it. All I need is the freedom. The choice. The ability to find what I want and keep it."_

_"...And what do you want?" Stan asked._

_She turned to him and took his face in her hands. "I think you already know."_

_He looked away as they kissed, embarrassed at intruding on the moment, and looked instead at Bev, who was sleeping. And if he could sigh with relief, he would._

_Instead, he sent her all the feelings of love and appreciation he could, and she smiled in her sleep._

_He didn't look at Richie. He was scared at what he might see. Who he might see Richie with._

_He had never held the hope that maybe, maybe it was Richie. Not like Bev. Not like the others. He loved Richie wholeheartedly and never once did he consider that Richie could ever love him back._

_It had been two years. He didn't know if he believed he'd wake up anymore._

_And so he turned his gaze away from the ship and he waited._

* * *

The new castle was close to the coast, and Georgie insisted on having a room that faced the sea. Bill didn't question it, just ruffled his hair and told him to keep an eye out, and he did.

It was in that room, staring out to the horizon, that he saw a ship, and somehow, somehow he knew.

And he watched, watched as the ship sailed closer, watched as it raised a flag, blue with a burning flame painted on it, and he lit up with excitement before running.

"Billy!" he shouted, throwing open his brother's door, then his face twisted in disgust as he noticed Bill and Audra making out, Bill's shirt half off.

"Georgie!" Bill cried out, pulling away from Audra. "I...I was just, uh-"

"I'm twelve now, Billy, I know what you were doing," Georgie stated plainly, rolling his eyes. Bill made a distressed noise at that while Audra gave an undignified snort. "C'mon, you need to come see!"

"See what?" Bill shouted, but Georgie was already racing back to his room, not waiting for his brother to pull himself together.

And when Bill, still slightly disheveled and with Audra close behind him, finally arrived, Georgie gestured out the window with a grin on his face, absolutely delighted.

"They're back!"

* * *

Ben could hear the carriage coming down the road, and he turned to greet the travelers, but then Bev popped into existence before him and pulled him into kiss.

"All of you are fucking gross!" Georgie called from the carriage as it stopped and Bev pulled away, leaving Ben stunned and a red as bright as her hair. "Mike is my only friend now!"

And everyone clambered out of the carriage, and Ben nearly cried at the sight of Stan and Mike and Richie as they quickly tackled him in a hug, and then Bill and Bev joined and there was no nearly about it and he did cry.

They were almost all together again.

* * *

"I'm glad it's not treason to call Eddie's mom a bitch anymore," Richie remarked, looking at the remains of the old capital. "Because wow, Eddie's mom was a bitch."

"She really was," Bill agreed with a nod, and eventually they all stood about ten yards away from the castle and its barrier.

Richie stared up at the castle, his throat practically closing up as he thought of Eddie inside, completely alone. He had been alone for over two years, and something in Richie's chest ached at that, because Eddie deserved better.

It was funny in a way, how the one time Eddie chose to lock himself away from the world, his mother had done all she could to try and force him out.

He missed him. He missed Eddie throughout those two years. He loved him and missed him and never once thought that this was what had happened to him. He never once thought Eddie chose to unleash his own curse, that Eddie had fully expected to never wake up.

He never once thought Eddie actually loved him back, all that time.

Bev placed a hand on his shoulder and he looked over at her, not sure why he was nervous.

(He knew why. Somehow, despite the letter now folded in his pocket, he worried it wasn't enough.)

"He missed you," she told him, a warm smile on her face. "Go get him."

The rest of the party stood behind them. Stan gave him an expectant look, and Patty had a similar one on her face, because those two were perfect for each other. Ben and Bill and Mike had smiles on their faces, confident Richie would succeed. Audra...he didn't know her well enough to read her, but she didn't seem worried. And Georgie looked impatient, practically bouncing with energy as he waited for Richie to just hurry up already.

So Richie turned, took a deep breath, and walked forward.

The vines withered away at his touch, and the gate before him opened, as if the castle itself had been waiting for him. And he walked inside for the first time in over two years, and his footsteps echoed through the halls.

The silence was unnerving, and so Richie hummed to himself, just to fill it. Then he began to talk, because it was all he could do as he followed the familiar path to Eddie's room.

"It's fine," he assured himself. "He wrote you a whole fucking letter. Not even fire could get rid of the vines but they went away for you. It's fucking fine." He hesitated. "But Bev's dad could be a sadistic son of a bitch. But...no, the fairy who changed the curse actually wanted to fucking help. You're just being stupid." He groaned as he began to climb the stairs. "Fuck, he's asleep. It's fucking gross if I kiss him while he's asleep, isn't it? God knows you heard him complain about it a fuckton."

He sighed. He was being stupid. Still.

"...You remember how we met, Eds?" Richie asked, though he didn't know why. He didn't think Eddie could hear him. "Yeah, I'm never gonna stop calling you that now. I have written proof that you like it." He sighed, reminiscing. "I saw you a lot, after Went started working in the castle. You always looked sad and lonely. I didn't realize what a fucking bitch your mom was to you back then. I just thought you needed a friend."

At the top of the stairs, he turned left, just like always.

"I barely knew what a spindle was, but I fucking scoured that garden to make sure there were none in there, though in hindsight why the fuck would there be a spindle in the castle gardens? But I looked anyway. And then we played and you decked me out in enough flower necklaces to kill a grown man. And I did my best to make you the perfect flower crown, because I thought you deserved something nice."

One more set of stairs.

"I thought you were one of the coolest people ever," he continued. "You fought for weeks with your shitty mom to help the daughter of the guy who tried to kill you. You plotted and executed a jailbreak when we were eleven. The only good family you had was Bill and Georgie and so you pulled together your own family, brought us all together, with not a fuck given to status. You were fucking incredible, and I hated your mom even more for how she treated you."

He laughed fondly, as he reached the top of the stairs and turned to the right.

"I almost told you I loved you so many times," Richie admitted. "But never in a million years did I think that you loved me back, not until I read your letter. If...If I had known...I don't know what I would have done. Maybe I would have asked you to come with me, when we left. Maybe I would have stayed, changed my name and grown a mustache and lived in hiding, and I could have been there for you when you needed me, two years ago." He bit his lip. "But of course I came back for you, Eds. Of course I did. You shouldn't have doubted it for a second."

He stood at the door, a key stuck in the lock, and he reached out and turned it, hearing the click.

"Here we are," he whispered, and he opened the door.

On the bed, there was Eddie.

It wasn't picturesque, as he looked like he had simply slumped over and fallen haphazardly onto his pillows. A spindle was there on the floor, a little blood on the tip, and Richie kicked it away as he approached the bed.

And, on Eddie's head, was a crown of daisies, just like the one he had made for him almost thirteen years prior, when they were both five.

"You sappy motherfucker," Richie muttered, laughing a little. "I guess you remembered after all." He knelt down by the bed, putting himself level with Eddie's face. "Guess what, Eds? It turns out we're both dumb as shit."

And then he leaned forward and pressed a quick, chaste kiss to Eddie's lips.

For a moment, there was nothing.

And Richie, nervously, asked, "Did it work? Are you awake?"

And then, Eddie swatted at his face and mumbled, "Five more minutes."

"Rise and shine, Eds," Richie said gleefully, doing his best not to cry with relief and very close to failing miserably. "You've overslept already. Time to get up."

And Eddie blinked his eyes open sleepily and told him, "Don't call me Eds."

But there was a tired smile on his face and Richie moved to sit on the bed and pull Eddie into a hug, and Eddie held him just as tightly, and if Richie cried, it didn't matter. It didn't matter because Eddie was there in his arms, and that was all he had wanted for the past two years.

* * *

Eddie didn't know sleeping for two years would still leave him waking up tired. Luckily, Richie was more than happy to let Eddie lean on him as they walked away from his room, down both flights of stairs and out the gate, where Georgie immediately slammed into both of them, followed by the rest of their friends, while Patty and Audra stood back with grins on their faces.

It was sappy as fuck, everyone crying, and Eddie eventually mumbled groggily, "If I don't get some fucking coffee in like five minutes I'm going to kill someone," and all of them laugh before Ben led the way to Mike's farm, leaving the old castle for the last time.

They all gathered in the living room, Ben and Bev and Bill and Audra on the couch while the others made themselves comfortable on the floor, Georgie threatening to leave if anyone started making out again. Eddie held his mug of coffee in his hands and leaned against Richie, who told the story of how Patty became a pirate captain with Stan and Mike occasionally interrupting to correct details.

"...And then Patty looked at the sword in her hand, looked at the angry jackass pirate insisting they fight to the death, and you could just see her mentally deciding, 'I guess this is fucking happening now,'" Richie recalled, a grin on his face. "And then she disarmed the guy and kicked him off the boat in like three seconds, before turning to the rest of the crew and said, 'This is our boat now.' And I swear all the pirates shit their pants."

"Don't forget what you said right after that," Mike added, and Stan groaned.

"What did he say?" Ben asked, amused.

Patty laughed. "He said, 'If I wasn't gay as fuck for Eddie, I'd be so turned on right now.' In front of all the pirates who just saw me murder their captain."

"Fucking years of dealing with his pining, and that was how he finally came out," Stan muttered, burying his face in his hands. "By saying that he'd be horny for my wife if he was straight."

"I didn't mean to say it out loud," Richie admitted, at least having the decency to look embarrassed. "I thought Stan was going to kick me off right along with the pirate. Either for suggesting I'd ever be interested in his not-yet wife or for coming out at literally the worst time."

"Why not both?" Eddie asked, and Richie gasped in mock offense.

"Rude!"

Eddie kissed him on the cheek after that. "Finish the story, jackass."

"God, you're so mean," Richie muttered, even as he pulled Eddie closer and smiled as Eddie relaxed against him. "Anyway, so Patty is standing there, her skirts ripped, her hair all over the place, an absolute _badass_ , and Stan looks like he'd be getting down on one knee if it weren't for the pirates that moments before were going to kill us..."

Eddie sighed softly, looking around at the people around him. Bev and Ben were sitting close together, their hands clasped between them, Bev's eyes shut as she rested her head on Ben's shoulder, sleeping soundly after almost a year of exhaustion. Ben was softly rubbing his thumb in circles on Bev's hand, a smile on his face at finally having her back. Bill was laughing at Richie's story, more like the kid Eddie had always known instead of the king he now was, and Audra kept looking over at him with a content smile. Stan sat on the floor by Bill's legs, a fond smile on his face even as he occasionally let out a snarky comment in response to Richie's retelling. Patty was beside him, an easy grin on her face, and on the other side was Georgie, looking almost like a little kid again as he listened with wide eyes and gasped at all the right moments. Mike sat on the other side of Georgie, rolling his eyes at everything that wasn't quite accurate and calling out the egregious lies. And there, beside Eddie, was Richie, gesturing with his free arm as he told the story, his eyes bright behind his spectacles and his dark hair curling at his shoulders.

It was a perfect moment, and Eddie let his eyes slip shut as, for the first time in two years, maybe in eighteen if he was honest, he got to rest.

Richie planted a kiss on the crown of his head, and Eddie was home.

**Author's Note:**

> Did I ruin my own dramatic moments with humor? Yes. Look, if I sleep for ten hours I wake up feeling half dead. Eddie slept for two years, there's no way he's gonna be sunshine and rainbows yet. Give him time and coffee.
> 
> Daisies mean innocence and, according to one source, loyal love. I did not know this before making crowns of daisies relevant to the story. Oh well.
> 
> The inspiration for Eddie invoking his own curse was from Gail Carson Levine's _Princess Sonora and the Long Sleep_ , which I read years ago in a collection of her versions of various fairy tales.
> 
> I hope y'all enjoy this. First fic for the fandom and all. I might be dying a little bit out of nerves. Aaaaaah.


End file.
